Devi Bhagavatam (Devi Puranam)

Chapter VI

On the Deva Dânava fight

1-8. Vyâsa said :-- O King! On the Daitya Tâmra becoming unconscious Mahisa became very angry and, raising his Gadâ (club), came up before the Devas and said :-- “Devas! O Ye powerless like crows; wait; with one stroke of Gadâ, I will kill you.” Thus saying, the powerful Mahisa swelled with pride, seeing Indra before him mounted on his elephant instantly struck him on his arms. Indra, again lost no time, and struck violently with his thunderbolt and cut the Dânava's Gadâ into pieces, and came up very close, wanting to strike at him. Mahisa, too, becoming very angry took up his lustrous sword and came to Indra to attack him with this weapon. A fight then occurred between the two, terrible to all the Lokas and wonderful to the Munis, where various weapons were showered from both the sides. The Demon Mahisa spread then his S'âmvarî Mâyâ, destructive to all the worlds and fascinating to the Munis.

Hundreds and hundreds of powerful buffalo-like appearances resembling Mahisa became, then, visible on the battle-field; they all began to kill the Deva forces with weapons in their hands.

9-14. Seeing this magic of the Dânava, Indra became thunderstruck and very much confounded with terror. Varuna, Kuvera, the Lord of wealth, Yama, Fire, Moon, Sun, and other Devas all fled with terror. Indra then, being surrounded by the network of magic, began to call Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a in his mind. At the instant when they were called in mind, Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a riding on respective conveyances Swan, Garuda, and Bull, came up there with best weapons in their hands for Indra's protection. Visnu seeing the play of that fascinating magic hurled his bright discus, Sudars'an; and caused the magic to vanish at once. Seeing the three, the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer, the Dânava Mahisa came up there with his Parigha (a club tipped with iron) weapon, desirous to fight with them.

15-16. Then the general Chiksura, Ugrâsya, Ugravîrya, Asilomâ, Trinetra, Vâskala, Andhaka and other warriors came up to fight.

17-23. Those Proud Dânavas, clad in armour and mounted on chariots with bows in their hands besieged the Devas, like a tiger attacking an heifer. Then those Dânavas swelled with pride began to shower on arrows after arrows; the Devas, too, began to do the same, desiring to extirpate them.The General Andhaka, coming up to Hari, drew his bow with great force up to his ear and shot at him five sharp arrows tipped with poison. Vâsudeva, the Destroyer of the enemies, cut off those arrows no sooner they came up before him; and He shot at the Dânavas five arrows. Then Hari and the Dânava struck each other with various weapons and arrows, swords, discus, Musala, clubs, S’akti, and Paras'u. Here, on the other hand, the fight lasted for fifty days between Mahes'a versus Andhaka; and it was a very close conflict, causing horripilation. Thus severe fights ensued between Vâskala and Indra, Mahisa and Rudra, Trinetra and Yama, Mahâ Hanu and Kuvera, Asilomâ and Varuna.

24-39. The Dânava Mahisa struck Garuda, the conveyance of Hari, with his club; Garuda, being very much distressed with the blow, sat down, gasping. Visnu then comforted the powerful Garuda, the son of Vinatâ and made him calm and quiet. Wanting to kill Andhaka, Janârdana became infuriated, and, drawing his bow made of horn, call S'ârnga, shot at him arrows after arrows. The Dânava cut off all those arrows to pieces with his own mass of arrows. Then, becoming very angry, he shot fifty sharp arrows at Hari. Vâsudeva quickly made all those arrows useless

and hurled Sudars'ana Chakra with thousand spokes on the Dânava with great violence. Andhaka thwarted this with his own discus and shouted aloud with such a great force that all the Devas became confused and confounded. Visnu's Chakra being baffled, the Devas became distressed with grief and the Dânavas got elated. Seeing the Devas thus grieved, Visnu held aloft his Kaumodakî Gadâ (club) and came hurriedly before the Dânava. Hari struck then with his Gadâ on the Dânava's head whereon he fell senseless on the ground. The hot-tempered Mahisa, seeing Andhaka senseless, bellowed aloud and, terrifying Hari, came up there. Seeing him there, Vâsudeva made such a thundering noise with his bow string that the Devas became highly glad. Then the Bhagavân shot showers of arrows on Mahisa; and Mahisa, too, cut those arrows while they were seen in the air. O king! Then a very close fight ensued between the two, Kes'ava struck on the head of the Dânava with his club. Thus struck, he fell in a swoon on the ground and a general cry of distress arose amongst the Dânavas. In a moment the Dânava got up again, free from trouble; he then struck again on Visnu's head with his Parigha (a club mounted with iron, a mace). Struck by that mace, Janârdan lay senseless; Garuda, seeing him thus unconscious, immediately took him away from the battle field.

40-55. When Visnu thus fled, Indra and the Devas were much distressed with fear and began to cry aloud. Hearing the Devas cry, S'ankara became wrathful and, quickly coming before Mahisa, struck him with his trident (S'ûla). The wicked Mahisa made his weapon ineffectual and bellowed aloud and struck on the breast of S'ankara with his S’akti (a kind of missile). Thus wounded in his breast S'ankara did not feel any pain; rather, with his eyes red with anger, He struck him again with Trisûla. Seeing S'ankara engaged with Mahisa, Hari becoming conscious came again on the battle-field. Seeing the two powerful Deva-chiefs, Hari and Hara, in the battle-field Mahisa became very much angry: he then assumed a buffalo body and wagging his tail to and fro came in front of them with a desire to fight. That terrible Mahisa of a huge body shook his horns and bellowed so deep like a thunder cloud that even the Devas got frightened. He began to hurl the huge mountain peaks with his two horns. The two powerful Devas Hari and Hara, began to shoot at the Dânava deadly arrows after arrows. Seeing these two gods shower arrows upon him, Mahisa began to hurl mountains on them by his tail. Visnu cut off those mountains into hundred pieces by his arrow; and struck at him instantly with his Chakra. Struck thus by Chakra, the Lord of the Dânavas fainted, but he instantly rose up with a human body. The mountain-like terrible Dânava with a club in his hand frightened the Devas and uttered grave sounds like those of rumbling rain clouds. Hearing that, the Bhagavân Visnu sounded a more terrible sound with his Pañchajanya S'ankha (conchshell). Hearing the sound of that conchshell, the Dânavas were struck with terror and the ascetic Risis and Devas became exalted with joy.

Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the Deva Dânava fight in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 versus by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter VII

On the going of the Devas to Kailâsa

1-3. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Mahisa seeing the Dânavas afflicted with grief, quitted his buffalo appearance, assumed a lion form and spreading this long manes began to roar aloud and fell amidst the Deva forces; then the Devas were terrified on seeing his sharp nails. That lion-form Mahisa first attacked so severely the Garuda with his nails, that his whole body was besmeared with blood; then he attacked Visnu's arms with his nails.

4-11. Seeing the Dânava, Vâsudeva Hari raised his discus in anger and attacked him with great force to kill him. Just when Hari struck the Dânava violently with his Chakra, the powerful Dânava quitted immediately his lion-form, assumed the buffalo form and struck Hari with his two horns. Vâsudeva, thus pierced in his breast with the horns, became confounded and fled away as best as he could till he reached his own abode, Vaikuntha. Seeing Hari thus fleeing away, S'ankara, too, thought him invulnerable and fled to his Kailâs'a mountain with fear. Brahmâ, too, fled to his own abode with terror; but the powerful Vâsava took patience and remained steady in the battle. Varuna taking his S'akti waited patiently for battle. Yama, too, with his staff remained there ready to fight. Kuvera, the Lord of the Yaksas, remained very busy in close fighting with the Dânavas; Fire, taking S’akti, also waited. The Sun and Moon, the Lord of the stars, both remained in firm resolve to fight with Mahisa, the lord of the Dânavas.

12-22. O King! In the meanwhile, the Dânava forces got angry and attacked them on all sides, shooting at the enemies a mass of dangerous serpent-like arrows. The Lord of the Dânavas, Mahisa, too, assuming the buffalo appearance, reigned supreme in the middle. At this moment fierce sounds of the warriors on both the sides were heard. During the sharp contest of the Devas and Dânavas, the sounds from the bowstrings and the clappings of the hands were heard like the roarings of thunder. The powerful Dânava, then, swelled with pride, began to hurl the mountain tops with his horns, thus killing the Deva forces. Some by hoofs and some by the lashing of the tail, that angry Mahisa, very wonderful to behold, sent to the region of Death. Then the Devas and Gandarbhas became very much frightened; so much so, that Indra fled away at once on the sight of Mahisa. Indra thus retreating from the field, Yama, Kuvera, and Varuna all quitted the battle-ground with fear. Indra fled away quitting his Airâvata elephant and Uchchais'ravâ horse; so Mahisa got the possession of the elephant and the horse, as well the heavenly cow of the Sun. So the Dânavas considered themselves pre-eminently victorious and returned to their abodes. Next they wanted to go, as early as possible, to the Heavens, with all their forces. In no time Mahisa went to the abode of Indra, deserted by all the terror-stricken Devas and got the possession thereof. Then taking his seat on the beautiful throne of Indra, he made the other Dânavas occupy the several seats of the other Devas.

23-27. Thus fighting full one hundred years, the Dânava Mahisa, puffed up with pride, acquired the seat of Indra, his desired object. He banished the Devas from the Heavens; the Devas, thus tormented began to wander in the caves of hills and dales for a period of good many years. O King! The Devas, at last, were quite tired and took the four-faced Brahmâ, the Creator's refuge. At that instant, the Lord of the world, the Rajas incarnate, the Originator of the Vedas, was seated on His lotus seat; surrounding Him were standing his mortal sons Marîchi, etc., with their passions subdued, mind calm and beyond the sphere of the Vedas and Vedângas; there were there also Siddhas, Gandarbhas, Kinnaras, Châranas, Uragas, and Pannagas. The terrified Devas then began to praise and chant hymns to Brahmâ, the Lord of the world.

28-33. The Devas said :-- “O Creator! O Lotus-born! O Thou, the Remover of the pains and afflictions of all this world! How is it that you are not moved with pity towards the Devas, seeing that we are defeated by the lord of the Dânavas and have been banished from our abode; what more shall we say, our troubles are now indescribable, as we are living in the caves of hills and dales. O Creator! A son may be a hundred times guilty of offence; is it, then, that the father, devoid of any feeling of covetousness, deserts his sons and gives them trouble! We are oppressed by the Dânavas, we who are wholly devoted to your lotus-feet, why are you today showing signs of indifference towards us! That wicked Dânava is thoroughly enjoying to-day the Heavens of the Devas, is forcibly taking their share of the oblations of clarified butter in the Yajñas (sacrifices) from the Brâhmanas; is enjoying the Pârijâta tree and also the heavenly milching cow, the jewel of the ocean. What more shall we describe to you the strange doings of the Asuras; O Lord of the Devas! You are perfectly aware of all that they strive and execute; for, by your knowledge, you know everything of this world; therefore, O Lord! We lie prostrate at your feet. That vicious Dânava, of wicked character and full of mischievous actions, gives us troubles in various ways wherever we go; O Lord of the Devas! Thou art our only Protector; therefore, O Lord! Do what is good to us. Thou art the Awarder of the desires of the Devas. Thou art the First Creator of the world, and Preserver; therefore if Thou dost not do us our good, to whom else shall we take refuge, when we are so severely oppressed as if we are burnt in a forest conflagration! Who else is more lustrous, more beneficent and more peace-giving Governor?

34-35. Vyâsa said :-- O king! All the Devas, praising Him thus, bowed down to the Lord of creation with folded hands and saluted him, with their faces very heavy, overladen with deep sorrow. The Grand Sire of all the Lokas, seeing the plight of the Devas, consoled them with sweet words and made them happy.

36-43. O Suras! What shall I do? The Dânava has become exceedingly haughty on account of his getting boons; he can be killed by females only; He is invulnerable by any male. What remedy is there now? Therefore, O Suras! Let us all go to Kailâsa, the best of all the mountains; thence we will take S'ankara, the expert in doing the works of Gods, and go to Vaikuntha, where Visnu, the Deva of the Devas resides. There we all will unite and hold a counsel and decide what is best to do, to serve the purpose of the gods. Thus making out the programme, Brahmâ riding on his Hamsa went to Kailâsa, accompanied by all the Devas. At the same time S'iva came to know out of his introspection about the coming of Brahmâ and the other Devas and soon came out of his dwelling abode. When they met each other, they saluted each other and felt very glad. The Devas then bowed down to them. Seats were given to the Devas; and when they sat respectively on their Âsanas, the Lord of Pârvatî also took his own seat. S'iva asked the welfare of Brahmâ and the Devas and asked the reasons of their coming to Kailâsa.

44. O Brahmâ! What has caused you to come here along with Indra and the other Devas? O highly fortunate one! Please mention it.

45-47. Brahmâ said :-- O Deva of the Devas! The Dânava Mahisa is oppressing all the Devas in the Heavens; they therefore terrified are wandering hither and thither in the caves and hills with Indra. Mahisa

and the other Dânavas are now accepting their share of Yajñas; the Lokopâlas, being oppressed, have come to-day and are now taking shelter of Thee. O S'ambhu! Considering the situation serious, I have taken them with me here; therefore, O Deva, do that which is reasonable and by which the purpose of the Devas can be carried out. O Bhûta Bhâvana! (The creator of the world) The whole charge and responsibility of all the Devas devolves on Thee.

48. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus, S'ankara smiled a little and spoke charming words to the Lotus-born in the following manner :--

49-55. O Bibhu! It is You that gave before this boon to Mahisa; and therefore it is you that have wrought this mischief. The Dânava has become so strong a hero that he has caused terror to all the Devas even. Now where can we get such a noble woman who becomes able to kill that Dânava, elated with pride. My wife nor your wife ought to go to battle; even if they, the good ladies go, how will they be able to fight? The fortunate wife of Indra, too, is not expert in the art of warfare; where else there is another lady who can kill this demon, blinded with pride. I, therefore, propose this; let us all go today to Visnu and, praising him with hymns, engage him quickly to this cause of the gods. Visnu is foremost amongst the intelligent; therefore it is highly advisable to execute all actions after duly consulting with him. He, by dint of his high intelligence, will find out means and effect our purpose.

Vyâsa said :-- O King! Brahmâ and the other Devas heard Rudra and approved heartily and saying, “Be it so” instantly rose up. At the time, seeing all the auspicious signs concerning the success of the gods, they all became glad; and, riding on their respective vehicles, drove towards the abode of Visnu. Favourable fragrant winds, pleasant to touch, began to blow gently, birds began to chant hymns of praise and signs of success were seen all along their way. The sky was clear and the quarters became free; in short, everything showed favourable all along their way.

Here ends the Seventh Chapter on the going of the Devas to Kailâsa in the Fifth Skandha of S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter VIII

On the description of the origin and the form of the Devî

1-4. Vyâsa said :-- Soon the Devas reached Vaikuntha, protected by Visnu; they at once began to look at the exquisite indescribable beauty of the place. At intervals they saw nice lovely divine houses, shining and appearing very splendid; pools and lakes were seen in front of them beautified with Kalhâra lotus flowers. They began to see, at other places, rivers flowing; swans, cranes, Chakravâkas and other aquatic birds were swimming there easily and warbling lovely sounds. At other places again, beautiful gardens came to their sight adorned exquisitely by Champaka, As'oka Mandâra, Bakula, Âmrâtaka, Tilaka, Kuruvaka and Mallikâ and various other flower trees, the cuckoos were seen there cooing melodiously, bees humming gently and peacocks dancing beautifully.

5-6. In the centre was situated the golden palace of Hari, towering to heavens, the rooms and quadrangles were all charming; at places, they were bedecked with gems and jewels and adorned with various paintings. There was the Divine Seat in the centre, composed wholly of gems and jewels; and Visnu was occupying this place. There were Visnu's Pârisadas or attendants, Sunanda, Nandana, and others; they were so much devoted to their master that their hearts never become attached to any other thing; so they were devotedly singing His praises and chanting His hymns with undivided attention.

7-10. There were dancing the Apsarâs (celestial nymphs) and the Devas, Gandarbhas, and Kinnaras were singing in melodious tunes. Those who love the chanting of the Vedas, such calm-tempered Munis were reciting the Vedic Sûktas and thus highly extolled Him. The two lovely gate-keepers Jaya and Vijaya were waiting at the entrance gate with golden sticks in their hands; the Devas coming nigh the city of Visnu caught sight of them and said :-- “Any of you may go and inform Visnu that Brahmâ, Rudra, and the whole host of gods are waiting at His door to see Him.”

11. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Hearing their words, Vijaya went away at once to Visnu; and, saluting Him, informed Him of the arrival of the Devas.

12-13. Vijaya said :-- O Lord! Thou destroyest the enemies of the gods; hence Thou art the most worshipped of them. O Lord of Ramâ! The whole hosts of gods have come and are waiting at Thy door, O Bibhu!

Brahmâ, Rudra, Indra, Varuna, Fire and Yama and other gods, anxious to see Thee, are all praising Thee by proper hymns.

14-32. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing Vijaya's words, Visnu, the Lord of Ramâ became very anxious and soon went out of his room to see the Devas. Hari came up to them and seeing the Devas waiting at the doors very morose and tired, cheered them up by casting a favourable glance full affection and love. The gods bowed down and praised hymns to Jagannâtha the Deva of the Devas, the enemy of the Daityas and revealed in the Vedas. O Deva of the Devas! Thou art the Creator, Preserver and the Destroyer of the worlds; Thou art the ocean of mercy and the sole refuge of this Universe; O Lord! We have come to Thee as our Great Refuge; therefore dost Thou save us from the present difficulty. Thus praised by the gods, Visnu said :-- O Immortals! Take your respective seats and speak how are you all? Why have you all in a body come here? Why are you so much depressed and worn out with cares? Why do you look so melancholy? Say soon for what purpose you with Brahmâ and Rudra have come here. The Devas said :-- “O Lord! The Asura Mahisa is very cruel and wicked; always addicted to vicious acts; now that most sinful Dânava has become very much puffed up with pride and is tormenting us always. What more shall we say than this, he is appropriating to himself the share of the Yajñas performed by the Brâhmins; we are therefore, terror-stricken and are wandering in mountains and fastnesses. O Destroyer of Madhu! He has become unconquerable due to his being granted the boon; considering, therefore, the gravity of our situation we have taken refuge unto Thee. O Krisna! Thou art acquainted with all the tricks and Mâyâ of the Daityas; therefore Thou art capable to kill them. Therefore Thou alone art able to deliver us from the present difficulty; be pleased, therefore; to Devîse means for that purpose. The Creator Brahmâ has granted him this boon that the demon could not killed by any man; therefore we are asking you where can we get a female who will be able to kill that hypocrite in battle. Mahisa has turned out very wicked on the strength of that boon; say, therefore, who amongst Umâ, Laksmî, S'achî, or Vidyâ or any other woman will be able to kill him. Therefore, O Gracious One to faithful worshippers and attendants! Thou art the Preserver of this world; now Devîse specially the cause of his death and carry out the purpose of the gods.” Vyâsa said :-- O king! Visnu on hearing their words, spoke smiling “We fought before; but this Asura could not at that time be killed. Hence if some beautiful female Deity be now created out of the collective energy and form of the S'aktis of each of the Devas, then that Lady would be able easily to destroy that Demon by sheer force. The Lady Deity then sprung from the collective energy of ours, would at once be able to destroy that Mahisa, elated on his getting the power, though he is skilled in hundreds of Mâyâs (magics). Therefore ask ye now all, with your wives respectively, boons from that portion which resides in you all in the form of Fiery Energy, that the collected energy thus manifested may assume the form of a Lady. We will then offer unto Her, all the Divine weapons, the trident, etc., that belong to us. That Deity, then, full of energy and with all the weapons in Her hands would kill that wicked Demon, vicious and swelled with vanity.”

33-46. Vyâsa said :-- On Visnu, the Lord of the Devas, saying thus, came out spontaneously, at once, of the face of Brahmâ, the brilliant fiery energy, very difficult to conceive. That energy looked red like gems and pearls, hot, at the same time, a little cool, having a beautiful form, and encircled by a halo of light. O King! The high-souled Hari and Hara, of mighty valor, were astonished to see this Fire, emitted from Brahmâ. Next came out of the body of S'ankara, His fiery spirit, quite in abundance and very wonderful to behold; it was silvery white, terrible, unbearable, and incapable of being seen even with difficulty. It extended like a mountain and looked horrible as if the incarnation of the Tamo Guna like another Tamo Guna (S'iva is the incarnation of Tamo Guna that destroys everything). It was very surprising to the Devas and very fearful to the Daityas. Next a dazzling light of blue colour emanated from the body of Visnu. The light that came out of the body of Indra was hardly bearable, of a beautiful variegated colour, and comprised in itself the three qualities. Thus masses of lights came out respectively from Kuvera, Yama, Fire and Varuna. The other Devas, too, gave their shares of fiery lights, very lustrous and splendid. Then these all united into a great Mass of Fire and Light. Like another Himalayan mountain shone full their lustrous Divine light; Visnu and the other Devas were all extremely surprised to see this. While the Devas were thus looking steadfastly on that Fire, an exquisitely handsome Lady was born out of it, causing excitement and wonder to all. This Lady was Mahâ Laksmî; composed of the three qualities of the three colours, beautiful, and fascinating to the universe. Her face was white, eyes were black, her lips were red and the palms of her hands were copper-red. She was adorned with divine ornaments. The Goddess was now manifest with eighteen hands, though She had a thousand hands (in Her unmanifested state). Now She became manifest out of the mass of fire, for the destruction of the Asuras.

47-52. Janamejaya said :-- O Best of the Munis! O Krisna! You are highly fortunate and you are all-knowing. Kindly describe, in detail the birth of Her body. O Deva! Please say whether the energies of all the gods united into one or remained separate? Whether Her body and Her limbs were all luminous. Was it that Her face, nose, eyes, etc., and all other parts of Her body were created out of the different fires respectively or whether was it that those limbs were fashioned when the different fires blended into one huge mass? Describe, in detail, the origin of the body and the several limbs thereof; also inform me the limbs that were produced out of the corresponding Deva's fiery part; as well tell me the several ornaments and several weapons given by the several Devas respectively. I am very desirous to hear all these from your lotus-like mouth. O Brahmân! Hearing from your lotus-like mouth the life and doings of Mahâ Laksmî, the sweet juice as they are, I am as yet not satiated (and am desirous to hear more).

53. Sûta said :-- Veda Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî, hearing his words addressed him in the following sweet words :--

54. “O Best of Kuras! Very fortunate you are. I will describe in detail, to the best of my understanding, the origin of Her body.

55. Even Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'a and Indra are never competent enough to describe Her form properly.

56. As I already told you that She sprung at the instant the word was spoken, how then can I ascertain the form or likeness of the Devî.

57. She is constant, She is always existent; though She is one, yet She assumes different forms for the fulfilment of the Deva's ends, whenever their positions become serious.

58-59. Though the actor is one, yet for the entertainment of the spectators, he assumes different forms in the stage, so the Nirgunâ Devî, though formless, assumes in Her pastime, many different forms of Sâttvic, Râjasic or Tâmasic qualities, to fulfill the Deva's purposes.

60. There are various names given to Her, according as the works done by Her vary immensely in their natures, just as the meanings of one root vary, some being principal and some secondary, according to the meanings and objects they convey.

61. O King! I will now describe to you as far as my knowledge goes, the Excellent Form that came out of that mass of Celestial Light.

62. Her grand beautiful white lotus-like face was created out of the fiery energy of S'ankara.

63. Her glossy black beautiful hairs of the head, overhanging to the knees, were formed out of the light of Yama; these all came to a fine pointed end.

64. Her three eyes came out of the energy of Fire; the pupils of those eyes were of a black colour; the middle parts were of a white colour and the ends were red.

65. The two eyebrows of the Devî were black and came out of the spirit of Sandhyâ (twilights); they were nicely curved and were looking spirited, like the bow of the Cupid and they were shedding, as it were, cooling rays.

66. From the light of Vâyu (air), Her two ears were created; they were not very long, nor very short, beautiful like the swinging seat (rocking chair) of the God of Love.

67. Her nose was fashioned out of the fire of Kuvera, the Lord of wealth; it looked like the til flower, glassy and exquisitely charming.

68. O King! Her pointed rows of glossy and brilliant teeth, looking like gems, came out of the energy of Daksa; they looked like the Kunda flowers.

69. Her lower lip was deep red and it came out of the fire of Aruna (the charioteer of the Sun); Her beautiful upper lip came out of the energy of Kârtika.

70. Her eighteen hands came out of the Tejas of Visnu and Her red fingers came out of the Tejas of the Vasus.

71. Her breasts came out of the energy of Soma and Her middle (navel) with three folds was created out of the spirit of Indra.

72. Her thighs and legs were from Varuna and Her spacious loins came out from Earth.

73-74. O King! Thus from the various Tejas, contributed by the Devas, that Heavenly Lady came out. Her body and the several parts thereof were beautiful; Her form was incomparably graceful and the voice was exquisitely sonorous and lovely. The Devas, oppressed by Mahisâsura, became overpowered with joy seeing this well decorated Devî, having beautiful eyes and teeth, and charming in all respects.”

75. Visnu then addressed all the Devas to give all their auspicious ornaments and weapons, He said :-- “O Devas! Better give, all you the various arms and weapons, endowed with strength, created out of your own weapons and give them all today to the Devî.”

Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the description of the origin and the form of the Devî in S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter IX

On the worship by the gods to the Devî

1-22. Vyâsa said :-- On hearing Visnu's words, the Devas became very glad and presented immediately their own weapons, ornaments and clothings. The Ksiroda (Milk) Ocean presented to Her gladly, the well fitted necklace, clear as crystal, and a pair of divine cloths, of a red colour, never becoming old and very fine. Vis'vakarmâ was very much gratified in his heart and presented a divine jewel to be worn in Her diadem or crest blazing like hundreds of suns; white earrings; bracelets for Her wrist, bracelets for Her upper arm, and other bracelets decked with various gems and jewels and anklets brilliant like gems, of a clear Sun-like lustre, decked with jewels, and tinkling nicely. The architect of the gods, the ocean of intellect, Vis’vakarmâ gave Her as offerings beautiful ornaments also for the neck, all very beautiful, as well as for the fingers decked with gems and jewels, all shining splendidly. Varuna gave for Her head garland of lotuses, never fading away, of such a sweet fragrance as bees constantly hover round them and the Vaijayantî garland for Her breast. The mountain Himâlyâ gladly offered Her various gems and a beautiful lion, of a golden colour for Her conveyance. Then that beautiful Lady, having all the auspicious signs, wishing welfare to all, and decorated with the divine ornaments began to look grand and splendid, mounted on Her conveyance, the Lion. Visnu then created another thousand spoked discus (Chakram) from His own Chakra, capable to take off the head of any Asura, and offered it to Her. S’ankara created another excellent Tris'ûla from his own Trident, terrible and demon-killing, and offered it to the Devî. Varuna created another bright conch from his own conch and offered it gladly to the Devî. Fire offered Her a weapon named S'ataghni which kills violently the demons, as if that is another god of death. Maruta (wind), the chief of the gods, offered Her a wonderful bow and arrow case filled with arrows. The bow can be drawn with great difficulty and emits a very harsh sound. Indra created another dreadful thunderbolt from his own thunderbolt and gave it at once to the Devî; as well the beautiful sonorous bell that used to hang from the elephant Airâvata. Yama, the God of Death, created another beautiful staff from his own sceptre which takes away when time comes, the life of all beings. Brahmâ gladly gave Her a divine Kamandalu, filled with the Ganges water; and Varuna offered Her a weapon called Pâs'a. O King! Time gave Her an axe and a shield and Vis'vakarmâ gave Her a sharp Paras'u. Kuvera, the Lord of wealth, gave her a golden drinking cup, filled with wine; and Vâruna offered Her a divine beautiful lotus. Vis'vakarmâ became very glad and gave Her the Kaumodakî gadâ, capable to kill the enemy of the gods and whence hundreds of bells are hanging, an impenetrable armour and various other weapons. The Sun gave to the Divine Mother his own rays. The Devas, seeing Her adorned with ornaments and weapons, began to praise and chant hymns to that most Auspicious Goddess, the Great Enchantress of the three worlds.

23-29. The Deva said :-- “Salutation to S'iva, Salutation to the Most Auspicious; Thou art peace and nourishment; we salute again and again to Thee. Salutation to Thee, the Bhagavatî Devî; Thou art the Goddess Rudrânî (the terrible), we always salute again and again to Thee. Thou art the Kâlarâtri (the night of destruction at the end of the world); Thou art the Indrânî. Thou art the Mother, we salute again and again to Thee; Thou art the success, Thou art the intelligence, Thou art the growth, Thou art the Vaisnavî; salutation again and again to Thee. Thou art within the earth; yet the earth does know know Thee. Thou art again the inmost of the earth and controllest the things within this earth; we offer our salutations to that Supreme Cause, the Highest Goddess. Thou art within this Mâyâ (the unborn) yet the Mâyâ does not know Thee. Thou residest again within the innermost of the Mâyâ and directest that Unborn One, the Mâyâ, we salute again and again to that Supreme Cause, the Great Directress, the S'ivâ (the most auspicious). O Mother! Do what is good to us; we are oppressed by our enemy, dost then protect us; by Thy own power dost Thou overpower and kill that Mahisa. That demon is vulnerable by woman only, he is deceitful, cunning, dreadful, and swollen with pride on his having got the blessing; he assumes many forms and torments the Devas. O One, devoted to the Bhaktas! Thou art the only refuge of all the gods; O Thou art the supreme goddess, we are very much harassed and oppressed by the Dânava; therefore dost Thou now protect us; we bow down to Thee.”

30. Vyâsa said :-- When the Devas had praised thus, the Highest Goddess, the Giver of all happiness, then smilingly said in the following auspicious terms :--

31. “O Devas! Today in the battle ground I will overpower that wicked Mahisa, of cruel disposition and take away his life.”

32-40. Vyâsa said :-- Speaking thus in a melodious voice, the Supreme One smiled and again said :-- “This world is all full of error and delusion. Really, it is very wonderful that Brahmâ, Visnu, Indra and other gods are all shuddering out of fear from Mahisa Dânava. The power of Destiny is exceedingly great and terrible; its influence cannot be overcome even by the best of the Devas. O king! The Time is the Lord of happiness and pain; Time is, therefore, the God. The wonder is this that even those who can create, preserve and destroy this world, they are being overpowered and tormented by Mahisa. The Devî, thinking thus, smiled; then laughed and laughed very hoarsely; it seemed that a roar of laughter then arose. And the Dânavas were struck with terror at that very dreadful sound. The earth trembled at that extraordinary sound; the mountains began to move and the vast oceans that remained calm began to be agitated with billows. The uproar filled all the quarters and the mountain Meru trembled. Then the Dânavas, hearing the tumultuous uproar, were all filled with tremendous fear. The Devas became very glad and said thus :-- “O Devî! Let victory be Yours; save us.” The intoxicated Mahisa, too, hearing those words, became very angry. Mahisa, struck with terror at those words, asked the Daityas “O Messengers! Go and ascertain how has originated this sound.

41-48. Who has made this harsh sound? Bring that devil who has made this hoarse noise, be he a Deva, Dânava, or anyone else unto me and I will kill that roaring villain, who, it seems, has been puffed with egoism and vanity. The Devas are not making this noise, for they are vanquished and terror-stricken; The Asuras are not doing so, for they are my subjects; then, who is the stupid fellow that has done so? Surely he is of very little understanding; his days are numbered; and I will carry him to the home of Death. Go you, ascertain the cause of sound and come back to me; then I will go there and destroy that wretch who made this noise to no purpose.” Vyâsa said :-- No sooner the messengers heard these words of Mahisa, than they at once went to the Devî and saw that Her body and the several parts thereof were all very beautiful; She had eighteen hands, She was decorated completely with various ornaments all over Her body, all the auspicious signs were being seen in Her body and that She was holding excellent divine weapons. That auspicious Goddess beautiful, was holding in Her hands, the cup and drinking wine again and again. Beholding Her this form, they were afraid and fled at once to the Mahisa and informed him the cause of that sound.

49-54. The Daityas said :-- “O Lord! We have seen one grown up woman; whose whereabouts we are quite ignorant. The Devî is decorated with jewels and ornaments all over Her body; She is not human nor Asurî but Her form is extraordinary and beautiful. That noble Lady is mounted on a lion, holding weapons on all Her eighteen hands and is roaring loudly; She is drinking wine; so it seems that She is puffed up with liquor. It is quite certain that She has no husband. The Devas are gladly chanting praises from the celestial space that Let Victory be to Her side and that She save the Devas, O Lord! We don't know at all who is that handsome woman? or whose wife is she; why has she come there? and what is Her motive? Sentiments of love, heroism, laughter, terror and wonder are all fully shining in Her; therefore we are very much overpowered by the halo emitted from Her; and we could not even see Her well.

Note :-- Rasas means sentiments. The rasas are usually eight. Sringâra, Hâsya, Karunâ, Raudra, Vîra, Bhayânakâh, Bibhatsâdbhû tasangau, Chetyastau, Natyan, Rasâh smritâh but sometimes Sântarasah, is added thus making the total number nine; sometimes a tenth, Vâtsalyarasa is also added.

55. O King! In compliance with your order, we have come back to you no sooner we had seen the Lady, without even addressing Her in any way. Now order us what we are to do.”

56-58. Mahisa said :-- “O Best of ministers! O Hero! Under my command, go there with all the forces and use the means, conciliation, etc., and bring that woman, having a beautiful face (like the Moon), to me. If that Lady do not come even when the three policies, Sâma (conciliation), Dâna (making gifts), and Bheda (sowing dissensions in an enemy's party and thus winning him over to one's side, one of the four Upâyas or means of success against an enemy) are adopted by you, then apply the last resort Danda, (or war) in such a way that Her life be not destroyed and bring that beautiful woman to me. I will gladly make Her, of black curling hairs, my queen-consort. In case that deer-eyed one comes gladly, then do my desires without causing any unpleasant feeling; (a cessation of sentiment). I am enchanted on hearing about Her beauties and wealth.”

59-67. Vyâsa said :-- The prime minister, on hearing the words of Mahisa, took with him elephants, horses, and chariots and hurriedly went to the desired place. On coming near to the Devî, the minister began to address Her in sweet words from a sufficient distance in a very humble and courteous way. O Sweet speaking! Who art Thou? What has caused Thee to come here? O Highly fortunate! My master has asked through me these

questions. My master cannot be killed by all the Devas and men; he has conquered all the Lokas (worlds). O Beautiful-eyed! On account of getting his boon from Brahmâ, the Lord of the Daityas has become very powerful and consequently being very proud, assumes different forms at will. He, our King-Emperor Mahisa, the lord of the earth, hearing about Thy beauty and dress, has expressed a desire to see Thee. O Beautiful one! Whether he will appear before Thee in a human form? He will do whatever Thou likest. O Deer-eyed One! Be pleased now to go to that intelligent King. In case Thou dost not go, we will bring the King, Thy devotee, to Thee. O Lord of the Devas! Our King has heard of Thy beauty and grandeur and has become very much submissive to Thee. We will therefore do exactly what Thou desirest. Therefore, Thou having thighs thick and round like those of a young of an elephant! Be pleased to express what Thou likest and we will do quickly as Thou desirest.

Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the worship offered by the gods to the Devî and the weapons offered by them in the Mahâ Purânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhagâvatam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter X

On the messenger’s news to Mahisa

1-16. Vyâsa said :-- The Mahâ Mâyâ, that Excellent Lady, hearing thus the words of the prime minister of Mahisa, laughed and spoke with a voice, deep like that of a cloud, thus :-- O Minister-in-chief! Know Me as the Mother of the gods; my name is Mahâ Laksmî. It is I that destroy all the Daityas. I am requested by all the Devas to kill Dânava Mahisa; they have been oppressed and deprived of their share of Yajña offerings. Therefore I have come here today alone, without any army to take away his life. O Good One! I am pleased with your sweet words of welcome, in showing me marks of respect. Had you not behaved thus, I would have certainly burnt you to ashes by my fiery sight, which is the universal conflagration at the break up of the world. O Minister! Who is there that gets not pleased with sweet words! Go you to Mahisa and speak to him the following words of mine “O Villain! Go down to Pâtâla (the nether regions) at once if you have any desire to live. Otherwise, I will slay you, the wicked one, in the battle-field; you will have to go to the house of Death, pierced by my mass of arrows. O Stupid One! Know that this is merely kindness shown unto you, that I have told you to go soon to Pâtâla and that the Devas get possession of their Heaven, with no delay. O One of weak intellect! Therefore dost Thou leave possession of this sea-girt earth and go alone without any delay to Pâtâla, before my arrows are shot at you. O Asura! Or if you desire to fight, then come at once with your powerful warriors; I will destroy all of them. O One of dull intellect! I will kill you in battle, just as I killed before in yugas after yugas countless Asuras like you. O Passionate creature! Better shew that your efforts in holding weapons have been crowned with success by your being engaged in battle against Me; otherwise they will all be useless. O Stupid! You thought that you would be vulnerable alone to women hence you oppressed the Devas entitled to worship; O wicked one! No longer show your pride on the strength of your getting the boon from Brahmâ, that you would be vulnerable only to the females. Thinking it advisable to observe the words of the Creator, I have assumed this incomparable Eternal Female appearance and I have come here to slay you, O wicked one! O stupid one! If you have any desire for your life, then quit this Heaven and go to Pâtâla, infested with snakes, or anywhere else you like.”

17-28. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing these words of the Devî, that minister, surrounded by forces, replied in reasonable words thus :-- “O Devî! You are speaking in words befitting a woman and puffed up with pride. You are a woman; the lord of the Daityas is a hero; how can a battle be engaged between you two. It seems to me impossible. Your body is delicate, a girl in full youth; especially you are alone and Mahisa is of huge body and powerful; so the fight comes next to impossibility. He has elephants, horses, chariots, infantry, etc., and countless soldiers all armed with weapons. Therefore, O Beautiful One! He will find no difficulty in killing you in battle as an elephant finds no difficulty in treading over the Mâlati flowers. Rather, if I utter anything harsh to you, that would go against the sentiment of love, with you; therefore I cannot speak rudely to you out of my fear not to interrupt the above feeling. True, that our king is an enemy of the gods; but be has become extremely devoted to you. Therefore it is wise to speak words full of conciliation or generosity. Were it otherwise, I would have shot arrows at you and would have killed you in as much as you have thus boasted in vain and spoken so dire a falsehood, resting merely on the strength of your youthful pride and cleverness. My master has become fascinated on hearing your extraordinary beauty hardly to be seen in this world; it therefore behoves me to speak sweet words to you for the sake of pleasing my master. O Large-eyed! This kingdom and the wealth thereof are all yours; in fact, Mahisa will be your obedient servant; therefore, better forsake your anger, leading

to your death; and cultivate friendship with him. O Sweet Smiling One! I am falling at your feet; you better go to him and become at once queen-consort. O Handsome Woman! No sooner you become the queen of Mahisa than you will get at once all the pure wealth of the three worlds and the unbounding happiness of this world.”

29-45. The Devî said :-- “Minister! I now speak what is pregnant with goodness and wisdom to you, according to the rules of the S'âstras, keeping in view also the cleverness that you have shown in using your words. Now I come to understand from your talk, that you are the chief secretary of Mahisa; and therefore your nature and intelligence are like those of a beast. And how can he be intelligent, whose ministership is occupied by a man of your nature! Nature has ordained connection between two persons of like nature. O Stupid One! Did you think a little beforehand the meaning of your words when you told me of my feminine nature? Though I am not apparently a man, yet my nature is that of the Highest Purusa (Man); I shew myself simply in a feminine form. Your master asked before from Brahmâ that he would prefer death, if possible, at the hands of a woman ; therefore, I consider him quite illiterate and ignorant of the sentiment, worthy of a hero. Because to die at the hands of a woman is very painful to one who is a hero; and this is gladly welcome to one who is a hermaphrodite. Now see that your master Mahisa has shown his intelligence, when he courted his death from the hands of a woman. For that very reason, I have come here in the shape of a woman to effect my purpose; why shall I fear, then, to hear your words, contradictory to those of the S'âstras. When Fate goes against any one, a grass comes like a thunderbolt; and when fate goes in favour of anyone, a thunderbolt becomes as soft as a bundle of cotton. What does it avail even when one possesses an extensive army or various weapons in abundance, taking shelter in a wide extending fort? What will his soldiers do to him, whose death has come close at hand? Whenever, in due time, the connection of the Jîva (the human soul) with this body is brought about, then his pleasures, pains and death are written. Know this as certain, very certain, that death will come to him in the manner as written by the hands of Fate; it will never be otherwise. As the birth and death of Brahmâ and other gods are ordained, your death has been similarly ordained; no, there is no need of taking the example further than this. Those who are tied up by the hands of death are surely fools and of extremely blunt intellect, if they think simply on the strength of their getting some boons “that they would never die.” Therefore go quickly to your king and speak to him what I have said; you will then surely obey what he commands you to do. If he wants his life, he, with his retinue, would at once go down to Pâtâla; let Indra and the other Devas get possession of the Heavens and their share of Yajñas. If he holds a contrary opinion, let him be eager to go to the house of Death and come and fight with Me. If he thinks that Visnu and the other Devas have fled from the battle-fields, he has nothing to boast of; for he has not shewn his manliness at all even then; for his victory is solely due to his having got the boon from Brahmâ.”

46-52. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing these words of the Devî, the Dânava began to think whether I ought to fight or to go to Mahisa? The King has become very enamoured and has sent me hither to negotiate for marriage; how then will I be able to go to him if I make this affair unpleasant and interrupted in the middle in its course of harmony. Now it is wise for me to go to the King without fighting; let me then go as early as possible in this way and inform him about this whole affair. The King is exceptionally intelligent and experienced; he will consult with his other experienced ministers and do what is best. Therefore I ought not to fight here rashly; for victory or defeat would alike be distasteful to my monarch. Whether this Lady kills me, or I kill this Lady, the king will be angry in either case. I will therefore go now to the king and tell him what the Devî has said; he will do whatever he likes.

53-66. Vyâsa said :-- Thus that intelligent son of the minister argued and went to the king. Then, bowing down before him, he began to say thus :-- O King! That excellent woman, fascinating to the world, the beautiful Devî is sitting on a lion with weapons in all her eighteen hands. O King! I told her “O Beautiful Lady! Be attached to Mahisâsura; you will become, then, the queen-consort of the king, the lord of the three worlds. You will certainly then be his queen-consort; he will pass his life, ever obedient to you like an obedient servant. O Beautiful One! If you choose to make Mahisa your husband, you will become fortunate amongst women and will enjoy ever all the wealth of the three worlds.” Hearing my these words, that large-eyed woman, puffed up with egoism, laughed a little and said thus :-- “Your king is born of a buffalo and is the worst of brutes; I will sacrifice him before the Devî for the benefit of the gods. Is there any woman in this world so stupid as to select Mahisa as her husband? O You stupid! Can a woman like me ever indulge in bestial sentiments! A female buffalo has got horns; she, being excited with passion, may select your Mahisa with horns as her husband and come to him bellowing. I am not stupid nor like her so as to make him my husband. O Villain! I will fight and destroy the enemies of the gods in the battle-field. Or if he desires to live, let him flee to Pâtâla. O King! Hearing those rough words uttered by Her in a moment of madness, I have come to you, thinking also how to redress this wrong. O King! Only I feared not to interrupt in your love sentiment; and therefore I did not fight with Her; especially, without Your command, how can I engage myself in useless excitement? O Lord of the Earth! That handsome woman rests maddened on Her own strength; I do not know what is in the womb of future or whatever is destined to happen, will surely come to pass. You are the sole master in this matter; I will do whatever you order me. The matter is very difficult to be reflected upon; whether it is better to fight or it is better to fly away, I cannot say definitely.”

Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the messenger's news to Mahisa, in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
 

Next >

Devi Puranam index

Email this page to a friend